Suspenders



Jan. l2, 1937'.l A, R PRlCE 2,067,503

SUSPENDERS Filed May 2l, 1935 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application May 21,

4 Claims.

10 differs with different persons, and if the webs are permanently secured together by stitching, undue strain will be placed upon the garment and upon the shoulders of the wearer if the point of crossover is not at the natural point where the webs 15 should cross each other.

To overcome the above difficulty I have pro- V, Y vided a pair of Suspenders -in which the point of cross-over of the two webs is adjustable to accommodate the Suspenders to the wearer. In ado dition to this the webs are relatively movable at the point of cross-over, and this permits the wearer to move the body into various positions without creating an undue binding eiect on the trousers or the shoulders.

In the standard Suspenders the front portions of the webs are looped back upon themselves, and the U straps which connect the front of the trousers with the Suspenders are supported at the place where the webs are looped. This causes a o breaking down of the webs at the point of loop. To overcomev this I have provided an adjustable clamp that supports the U straps and which in turn is adjustably secured to the at portions of the webs at points above the loops. The life of the Suspenders is thereby increased. Moreover the clamps on the front portions of the webs are disposed lower down on the webs than on the standard Suspenders, and this reduces the wear of the clamps on the vest. The vest fits the tightest over the chest and should the clamps be positioned over the chest, as is the usual case, the movement between the clamps and vest would in time wear holes inthe vest. By positioning the clamps lower so as to overlie the abdomen, more space is provided between the clamps and the vest with the result that wear will be reduced.

It should further be noted that the pivoting and the adjustability of the webs where they cross over ejach other is accomplished without o stitching the two webs together, and therefore the rubber in the webs at the point of crossing is not deadened by the stitching as is true in standard Suspenders.

Other objects and advantages will appear in 55 the following specication, and the novel features 1935, Serial No. 22,595

of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of the suspenders showing various parts;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the front clamps;

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an isometric view of the pivoting member; and

Figure 6 is a section along the line 6-6 oi Figure 1.

In carrying out vmy invention I make use of two elastic webs I and 2 which are of suiiicient length to extend from the rear of the trousersz over the shoulders and be connected to the front of the trousers. Both webs have tabs 3 secured to their rear ends. I have shown one of these tabs in Figure 1 connected to the web 2. Figure 6 illustrates how the end 4 of each web is stitched'ms over the stitches 5. In this way the ends of theV` webs I and 2 are securely fastened to the tabs 3 and cannot be torn loose. The tab 3 has a standard button-receiving slot 8 therein provided with an enlarged recess 9 at its lower end.

The web I is passed through the pivoting member indicated generally at IU, see Figures 4 and 5, in the following manner: The member vI0 has a rear plate I I with an upper slot I2 and a lower slot I3 therein. The web I is passed through the slots as shown in Figure 4. The slots dene a central bar I4 which has its mid-portion elevated as at I5. A pivoted member I 6 has its ends secured to each other and pivotally secured to the portion I5 by a rivet I'I. 'Ihe web 2 slidably passes through the loop I6.

In order to prevent the edges of the web 2 from wearing out due to the sliding of the web in the loop I6 I provide a loop with arcuate ends I8. This prevents the top and bottom edges of the loop from engaging with the sides of the web 2 and the result is that no wearing action is exerted on the sides of the web.

The pivoting member IIJ is adjusted on the web I to its desired height which is comfortable to the person wearing the Suspenders. The web 2 then passes through the loop I6 and the web is free to slide in the loop and permit the suspenders to accommodate themselves to various movements of the wearer.

The fronts of the webs I and 2 are provided with adjustable clamps indicated generally at I9, and shown in non-binding position in Figures 1 and 2. Since the clamps are identical, description of one will suflice. In Figure 3 I show the two partsoftheclamp :I9 sseparated. The plate 28 of the* clamp I9 has a'slot 21I adjacent to its upper edge. The plate is provided with a U-shaped portion 22 and slots 23 and 24 are provided at the top and bottom sides of the U-shaped portion 22. The bottom portion of the plate 28 is bent rearwardly as at25i and is provided with two slots 26 vand 21, see Figure l.

The other part of the clamp' I9 consists of a clamping member 28 having a top yportionsZS bent substantially at right angles to the plate 28. The lowerendoffth'e clampingmemberor plate 28 has laterally extending projections 30 and the bottom of' the plate iis inclined at an angle' with respect to the plane of theplate as shown at 3|, and is provided with teeth 732.'

In assembling the clamping members I9. tothe webs I and 2 I have'shown" in Figure 2 how the web 2 is passed through the slots '23 and 24 without bending the web.Y The web is then looped back onv itself at 33, and the end.V of the web is passed over the top of the plate 28 and then through the slot 2|, and is'secured to a portion of itself by stitching 3d. The clamping memberv 28 is now inserted through the slots 2li and 23. This is made possible by rst the insertion of the flange 29 in the slot 24,'and then the swinging of the clamp into the position `shown in Figure 2. When the shoulder 29 touches the edge 35 of the slot 23,' a sufficient portion of the inclined plate 28 depends below the `Ushaped portion 22 to permit the teeth 32 tofree themselves from the web 2 to permit the web to be adjusted. After adjustment ofthe web to the desired position, the clamp bearing member 28, is moved upwardly withV respect to the U-shaped portion 22A and this causes the member to be cammed down by the' under 'surfaceof the U portion 22 and-to-drive'theteeth 32 into the web. yIn this way the web is clamped to the clamping member I 9. The ordinary upward pull on the webs I and 2 in supporting the trousers will tend to move the members 28 upwardly and this will causey the members to move upwardly beneath the U-shaped 'portions and increase the clamping eifect One -U strap for securing the trousers to the clamping member I9 is shown in Figure 1. This U strap has legs 36 and 31 of different lengths, these legs being provided with openings 38 and 39 and with slots lil and 6|,vcommuni'cating with the openings. In this manner the legs 36and 31 are removably secured to the trouser buttons. The legs 36 and V3l are integral with a head portion 42, and this portion projects beyond the slotsv 26 and 2'! and anchors the U straps in place. The legs 39"-and 3l are passed through the slots 26 and Z'I.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.`

The Suspenders are attached to the trousers by means of the tabs 3 and the U straps in the usual manner. The pivoting member Il) is now adjusted to thedesired height and the clamping members I9 are-also adjusted to the desired height. It will be seen that a continuous elastic connection is provided between the tabs 3 and the clamps I9. No stitching is used at the crossover of the webs and the swiveling of the pivoting member I Il permits the webs to assume their natural positions on the shoulders. There is no force applied at the loops 33, and therefore breaking of the webs at these points is obviated. The buckle or clamping member I9 is disposed beneath .the high part of the chest; and therefore will notr wear out the vest.l .The swivel or pivoting member I 8 is adjustably connected to one web and slides on the other. No teeth are used for clamping this member to the web. Stitching is done away with at this point, and the elastic in the webbing is therefore'not out. The teeth on the clamping member I9 are on a slant, and therefore do not enter the web to a great distance. The teeth engage the web on a flat surface and the life of the web is thereby increased.

. No metal on the Vclamping4 member 'I9 Atouches the shirt. The U strapsJincluding the legs'36 and 3l are anchored to the clamping member I9 `by the head v12. VThis prevents slipping ofthe legs. The U strap can be made 'out-of any material desired. The arcuate ends "I8'of member AIt prevent wear onthe sidesof the web fThe stitching on the tabs'3 permanently securesthe tabs to the `webbing tearing loose. l Y y It will be'noted that. the webs'can' movev independently ofv eachother 'atthe' pointof 'cross over, and this reduc'esthe strain on `the 'trouser buttons because it permits the suspenders'to accommodate themselves .to the various movements of the wearer. i

In adjustingv theweb'or-strap in the clampl I9, the strap can 'be moved' downwardly 'over the and prevents them *from plate for shortening the `e'iective length 'of ther-3,40

that the member 28 when in its lowermost posi-@50 tion'will hang loosely from 'the U-shaped portion 22 and will permit the strap to continue to-move beneath the member 28 andover the plate 2D fto the desired position, whereupon the strap can again be secured inplace by moving the member,

28 upwardly into binding engagement with the U-shaped portion and this will cause the-teeth to engage again with the -web and secure it in place.

In moving the strapl in the opposite direction over the plate 28 for increasing the Yeffective length of the strap, it is necessary to hold the shoulder 29 down upon the front edge ofthe opening 23 as shown in FiguresY land 2. VThis willv prevent the clamp 2 8 from moving uri-65 wardly with the strap and clamping the strap to ther plate. After the required adjustment has been made, the clamp 28 is moved upwardly into binding position.

While I have shown only the preferred form4 of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications mayV be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.v

I claim:

1. A pair of suspenders comprising two straps, means for removably securing the ends of the straps to trousers, the straps crossing over each other at the back of the wearer, a member adjustably anchored to one strap at the point of cross-over, and a loop-shaped member slidably receiving the other strap and being pivotally secured to the rst member, said last named strap extending through the loop-shaped member in a fiat plane, whereby the strap can freely slide through the loop-shaped member during the wearing of the Suspenders.

2. A pair of Suspenders comprising two straps, means for removably securing the ends of the straps to trousers, the straps crossing over each other at the back of the wearer, a member adjustably anchored to one strap at the point of cross-over, and a loop-shaped member slidably receiving the other strap and being pivotally secured to the i'irst member, the ends of the loop being arcuate in shape for spacing the edges of the loop member further away from the sides of the strap than the mid-portion of the loop, whereby wear on the sliding strap is reduced.

3. A back cross-over member for Suspenders comprising a part adjustably anchored to a web of a pair of Suspenders, and a looped part slidably receiving the other web and being pivotally secured to the first part, the ends of the loop being arcuate in shape for spacing the edges of the loop further away from the sides of the web I than the midportion of the loop, whereby Wear on the sliding web is reduced.

4. A back cross-over member for Suspenders comprising a plate with parallel slots therein for adjustably receiving a web, the plate frictionally engaging with the web to prevent accidental movement of the plate along the web, and a looped portion slidably receiving the other web and being pivotally secured to the plate, the ends of the loop being arcuate in shape for spacing the edges of the loop further away from the sides of the web than the midportion of the loop, whereby wear on the sliding web is reduced.

ABRAHAM ROBERT PRICE. 

